Is becoming a lawyer a possibility for me?

I am a junior in high school and recently I have decided that I would really like to go into law once I get into college. I am really interested in that career field but my only concern is that I don't have that good of grades and I am not in the top of my class or anything like that. I have an average GPA and I haven't taken my ACT or SAT yet. I do take honors and AP classes though. Some people that I've talked to said that if you want to go into law you should join the debate team, but the debate team at my school is really competitive and the teacher is horrible from what I've heard so I am not on the debate team. From what it seems like, you have to be really smart and do well in school if you want to be a lawyer but I want to know if that isn't necessarily true. I realize that I will have to get my bachelor's degree or whatever first before I go to law school. My questions are, if anyone has had or is in a similar situation to me, where you weren't academically that strong in high school, were you able to get into law school/do well in law school? Also, when you go to law school do they mostly look at how well you did in college or does the college you went to effect your getting into law school? And also do you think that it would be beneficial for me to take more law oriented classes during high school?Thanks!P.S.- Sorry if some of the things I said were inaccurate, I don't know everything about college and law school, I am still a junior in high school! But I wanted to get some more information about it to help me decide whether trying to become a lawyer is right for me!

Yes you can go to law school. Whatever you do in high means absolutely nothing to a law school admissions committee, unless you committed a felony or something. Your SAT/ACT means nothing to a law school admissions committee either, but your LSAT means a lot.

You do need to get a bachelor's degree, but the reality is whatever undergrad you go a law school won't care. With obvious exceptions if you go to an Ivy League school that will impress an admissions committee, but if you go to UC Santa Cruz or Florida International University a law school admissions committee probably won't know the difference. Your GPA in college will mean a lot and a good thing to do is inflate your GPA with b.s. A classes like weightlifting etc. To many law schools an A in weightlifting counts the same as an A in molecular biology. Again, the Ivy League and Elite schools might look more closely into that, but most schools will not and you might significant scholarship money if you boost your GPA like that. I played basketball in college and got about 30 free A's, which is ridiculous, but it got me a lot of scholarship money for law school. Obviously, still enroll in a college major you are interested in because your mind changes a lot in college and law school might not something you want to do after all. However, throwing in a free few A's in college whether it be weightlifting, frisbee golf, or whatever will boost your college GPA and that will help you get into graduate school later in life.

One major thing I noticed in undergrad, was that high school had absolutly zero impact on college. I was a good student in high school, not great, mostly B's and A's (in that order), and that transfered to mostly A's and B's in college. However, I know people who had mostly C's in high school that graduated Summa Cum Ladue (which is a 3.7+ in my UG). I also know of people who had a 4.6 in high school that dropped out of college freshman year. I only had one school even ask me what my high school GPA was (for law school at least).

Its not a major cocern at all. I do disagree a bit with Bigs with the fluff courses. Yes, if you have a few that will not be a problem at all, but you load up with them A) you will be totally unprepaired if law school doesn't work out B) most law schools DO look at that (my aunt works at a t4 law school admissions office, she says that is certainly a factor, but to an extent of course) C) if you can not handle work in undergrad, law school will not be a smart investment. Do good work in undergrad and take courses that will help you in your major and with what you want to do in your career. It is never a smart move to half ass an education. You are paying thousands of dollars, make it worth it. It WILL come back to bite you, I have seen it first hand many, many times.

But thats beside the point. Don't give up if you want to do it. Just go to an ABA school and I am sure you will be fine. Go to the school that makes you happies in undergrad, I chose a small school in central Massachusetts over schools like Ohio State and whatnot, becuase I was happier there, and still go into one of my top choice law schools. If you are happy you will do better. Just start looking into law school the summer of junior year between study coures for LSAT, start thinking about where you can see yourself going to law school, and start looking things over a bit, then summer of senior year take the LSAT and start looking at schools pretty hardcore. It is better to go strait through (so I am told by many) than to take time off, strictly in a getting used to doing schoolwork sense. Going strait through will not help you in admissions.

I didn't mean take all fluff courses and I think anyone in high school should realize that their ambition to go to law school could die out freshman year. What I meant to say for anyone in college considering law school is that if you can throw in 8 or 10 credits of free A's over 4 years it won't hurt you.

I also totally agree with people doing well in high school and poorly in college. The same thing applies even to law school whatever your undergrad & lsat score were when you got admitted means nothing in regards to how you will do in law school. That is just like everything in life once your in something nobody cares how you got there, it is how well you perform in your current situation that matters.

Question: Is there still a possibility for me to become a lawyer if I just have a GED?

Answer:Anything is possible! But to be a lawyer, you must first go to college and then attend law school (see LFK Speak Up! question #482).

Many students start at a two-year college. Arizona has one of the best community college systems in the nation. Check out the Maricopa County Community Colleges website for community colleges in Arizona. Community Colleges donít cost as much as a four-year university and itís a good way to get started in your college career.

After finishing your two-year degree at the community college level, you can transfer to a four-year university like Arizona State University or the University of Arizona. They both offer law programs of study. You donít have to go to ASU or U of A but it may help when you apply to law school. You can earn a four-year degree at several different colleges in Arizona. And you donít have to go to a community college. You can choose to go all four years at a university. Check out these web sites for all of the colleges in Arizona.http://www.rbbalch.com/accg/majors.asphttp://www.rbbalch.com/accg/http://www.50states.com/cc/arizona.htm

Visit the websites of Arizona law schools:Arizona State University (ASU)University of Arizona (U of A)

After you finish your four-year degree, you have to apply to law school. Arizona State University and University of Arizona both have Schools of Law. You have to take a special test, LSAT, and fill out an application for law school. It is very difficult to get into Law School, so study a lot and work hard to get good grades when you are working on your four-year degree. It takes three years of law school to complete your law degree. When you are finished with law school, you will take a special test called the ďBar Examination.Ē After you pass the test you will be able to practice law in the state of Arizona.